I have a fear of forgetting some of my favorite things. A uniquely 21st century problem. Here they are, some of my favorite digital things that I don’t want to forget how much pleasure I get from them.
- Medium. Medium is a this collaborative writing platform designed to focus on content more than anything. Collaborative in the sense that people can give you really line specific feedback on things you write using their system if you want, but beyond that, it’s all you! It’s for anyone, but all the articles I’ve read from it are really strong. I fantasize about posting something myself on there but I don’t know that I have anything as insightful as what other people are posting. They’re not like, short stories or creative pieces, they’re really like articles or essays with a purpose. So, it might be about a personal experience, but the reader definitely take something away with them. Read Julie Zhuo’s article on when to write on Medium.
- Quipsologies. Everyone knows about the top design blogs like The Fox is Black, It’s Nice That, and Design.Co—I follow them as studiously as the next person–but there is something about the way Quipsologies flows and is curated that I really enjoy. For some reason, I also forget about it a lot, but I want to get better about checking it. More than TFIB and INT, you feel like you’re really in a magazine with a theme (in fact they give them volume names). But it feels much more intimate than Design.Co and more balanced between the big things and the playful things.
- Radio lab reads tumblr. They just made this, to be fair, but I already don’t want to forget it. I looks like so many good books! I’m one of the people who has a to-read list that is miles long and just seeing all these books that it would be impossible to read make me a little bit frustrated, but you have to try, don’t you? You can check out my reading list here.
- I installed this software called f.lux that automatically changes my screen according to the time of day. Computer screens have this eerie, unnatural blue glow that keeps you up at night (which, for some designers, might be a good thing), but as with flux, as evening progresses, it adds a more yellow hue to your screen with is better on the eyes. I’ve probably been using it for over a year now and it’s nice.
- Gibbon playlists for learning. I’ve only done this for a month now, but I have really enjoyed it so far. Each week they send you articles/media on topics that you find interesting and want to learn more about it, but only enough that will take you 20-30 minutes to read/watch. Perfect amount of time to squeeze into a busy schedule and a great way to stay on top of your interests, especially when they’re constantly evolving like mine are! Right now it’s very tech and design focused, but users are invited to start their own courses so maybe it’ll grow!